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Parents' Guide to

Get Carter

By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Outdated '70s crime thriller has blood and sex.

Movie R 1971 112 minutes
Get Carter Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 13+

Based on 1 parent review

age 13+

Old thriller is boring

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (1 ):

The ins and outs of old slights among a large cast of characters make this film difficult to follow at times. Get Carter embodies sadistic, misogynist, and macho elements of crime movies of earlier British and Hollywood eras, but here the violence and sexuality are designed to be more shocking and explicit, in line with loosened film codes of the 1960s and 1970s that allowed bare breasts, sexual talk and graphic gore. Carter's contempt for and abuse of women and his ruthless treatment of enemies are disturbing, but there's a clear attempt to elevate him by way of casting the gleaming movie star Caine.

Young viewers may find it quaint that so much business is transacted by pay phone in this artifact of pre-cell phone life. Teens will also notice the way the movie manufactures a desire in the audience to root for the title character on his quest to avenge a brother's death and also the way this sets up a moral conflict, as it's clear that the "hero" is truly evil.

Movie Details

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